The social policy of a nation is concerned with improving the health and well-being of the entire population, but especially its most vulnerable citizens. The key elements of research on social policy entail: (a) the accurate measurement of social outcomes; (b) assessments of the variation in social outcomes over time, across jurisdictions, among social class and ethnic groups, and between the sexes; (c) causal studies aimed at understanding the determinants of social outcomes, including research on the effects of people’s lifestyles, their physical environment, their access to quality health care, and the economic and social milieu in which they live and work; and (d) action-oriented or applied research that assesses the efficacy of community-based interventions and social policies aimed at altering people’s life-styles and improving their economic, physical and social environments. CRISP’s research has predominantly focused on the first three of these research elements.

CRISP researchers are increasingly devoting their efforts to bridging the divide from causal studies to applied and action research as a core component of its research program. Researchers are currently working on two applied research studies, one on early literacy assessment and another on the effects of intimate partner violence on children’s early development, that are bridging this divide by bringing together researchers from differing perspectives to tackle critical issues concerning child development. These projects are important because they integrate different research perspectives to establish a model for change. They are at the cusp between causal studies aimed at understanding the determinants of social outcomes and applied research that brings new knowledge into practice.